How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Page)
Quote #1
Then it was noised about in the town of N. that neither man nor beast would serve the said creature, and some said she was accursed; some said God openly took vengeance on her; some said one thing and some said another. (I.2.45)
Even before Kempe receives the "gift" of crying and screaming from God, she has some serious social problems. She sees her inability to attract and keep workers at her brewery or mill as an early sign that she should leave worldly things behind. Or perhaps worldly things are leaving Kempe behind? You be the judge.
Quote #2
[...] she was greatly despised and reproved because she wept so much [...] and so much so that her husband went away from her as if he had not known her. (I.13.62-63)
Kempe finally gets her husband to go on pilgrimage with her to Canterbury, and this is all the support she gets from him. Kempe's practice of affective piety often leaves her emotionally overwhelmed. It's a pretty unique superpower to have, and even her loved ones aren't always on board.
Quote #3
And then this lady sent her daughter, and others of her household with her, to the anchorite who was principal confessor to this creature, in order that he should give her up, or else he would lose her friendship. (I.19.82)
Kempe runs afoul of a wealthy lady when she tells the lady that her husband is in purgatory and needs the prayers of his wife to be set free. Kempe often upsets the rich and comfortable, since she advocates a life of penance and contemplation—neither of which is easy or pleasant. It's not surprising that she suffers rejection time and again from these kinds of people.
Quote #4
And all the time her maidservant left her alone and prepared the company's food and washed their clothes, and to her mistress, whom she had promised to serve, she would in no way attend. (I.27.102)
We now have productive language to talk about the social behavior that Kempe is subjected to on her pilgrimage to Jerusalem: it's called bullying. Once she has annoyed her comrades with her constant weeping, Kempe becomes the target for their hatred and petty behavior. In this case, she has to make the difficult sea journey without the help of a maidservant.
Quote #5
When it was time to make their beds they locked up her bedclothes, and a priest who was in her party took a sheet away from this creature, and said it was his. (I.28.103)
This is the equivalent of stealing a favorite possession from a little sibling or shorter classmate and holding it over his or her head. Kempe's companions on the trip to Jerusalem know that Kempe's differences and powerlessness can be exploited—and they take full advantage of it.
Quote #6
Then she suffered shame and abuse for wearing her white clothes, and because she cried so loud when our Lord put her in mind of his Passion. (I.44.142)
Why would Kempe be shamed by wearing white clothes? Take a look here to see the kinds of things that women in Kempe's time wore, and you'll see why. Kempe stuck out like a sore thumb, like a kid with a "Kick Me" sign on her back. It's a little hard to understand why God tells Kempe that he loves her more when people abuse her. But remember that we're working with a belief system that privileges suffering for the sake of God, as well as the ability to forgive.
Quote #7
Then people spat at her in horror at the illness, and some scorned her and said that she howled like a dog, and cursed her, and said that she did a lot of harm among the people. And then those who before had given her food and drink for God's love now spurned her.... (I.44.143).
Kempe doesn't just weep a little when she feels emotionally overwhelmed in prayer; she screams, writhes on the floor, and turns blue. It's terrifying behavior for those around her. Her neighbors might have some ideas about epilepsy—which they thought she had—but they didn't know it wasn't contagious. And during plague eras like this one, everything was all about contagion. No wonder Kempe is shunned. She's actively traumatizing the townspeople.
Quote #8
For she had been told that, if they had any storm they would throw her into the sea, for they said it would be because of her; and they said the ship was the worse for her being in it. (I.45.147)
People often believed that great storms at sea had something to do with the bad behavior of one or more persons on board the ship. You know, divine vengeance and all that. Kempe often finds herself a convenient target for this kind of thinking. On this trip to Santiago de Compostela, she has to do some serious praying to ask for calm seas.
Quote #9
Then she was charged by her confessor that she should not go where he preached, but when he preached in one church she should go into another. She felt so much sorrow that she did not know what she could do, for she was excluded from the sermon.... (I.62.190)
Kempe loves a good sermon, and when the "Good Friar" (a.k.a. the Gray Friar) comes to town, she's as excited as a tween for a One Direction concert. But the "Good Friar" isn't so good and forgiving after all, and despite his fantastic preaching, he really hates Kempe's disruptive behavior. While she's good at persevering in the face of bullying, Kempe really feels the pain of isolation here: she feels excluded from learning, and that's hard for her to take.
Quote #10
Notwithstanding the grace that he showed for her, still, when the dangers were past, some people slandered her because she cried, and some said that our Lady never cried [...] Then she fled from people into the Prior's Chapel, so that she should give them no further occasion. (I.67.203)
Even though the people of Bishop's Lynn believe that Kempe has just saved their church from fire through her prayers, they still disrespect her. Slander in these days—as Kempe finds out many times—isn't simply a matter of having a bad reputation. It can mean accusation of heresy, which can lead to burning. So it's often a matter of safety, rather than emotional refuge, for Kempe to remove herself from a hot situation.
Quote #11
"And now Master Aleyn is barred from seeing me, and I from him. Sir Thomas Andrew and Sir John Amy have got benefices and are out of town. Master Robert scarcely dares speak to me. No I have in a way no comfort from either man or child." (I.69.208)
Because the townspeople have a love-hate relationship with Kempe, it's important for her to maintain her allies. But now she's at a low point in her life. The dissolution of her spiritual relationship with Master Aleyn is particularly awful for her—for both of them, if we can believe her story—and she finds that she has to make do with the friends in her soul (those would be Jesus, Mary, and the saints).